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The Populist Discourse on Representation in Lithuania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2020

Jogilė Ulinskaitė
Jogilė Ulinskaitė*
Affiliation:
Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University, Vokiečių str. 10, Vilnius, Lithuania. Email: jogile.ulinskaite@tspmi.vu.lt
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Abstract

Populist parties participate in the process of political representation through elections. Little is known about how they conceptualize this process since their statements refer to a direct involvement of citizens in decision-making and disapprove of representatives. This article addresses this issue and presents an empirical study about how Lithuanian populist political parties define political representation. The data come from the 2016 election manifestos and from party websites between April 2016 and September 2017. The qualitative content analysis reveals that populists define representation by referencing common moral values and constant communication with citizens. This helps them create a political identity common to themselves as representatives and the represented.

Type
Articles
Information
European Review , Volume 28 , Issue 5 , October 2020 , pp. 744 - 760
Copyright
© Academia Europaea 2020

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